Tag: Romania

I’ve made it to Nijikon this year! Usually I forget about it or don’t have any money to go. But this year, somehow I’ve made it.

I’m sorry to say this, but for me the anime conventions in Romania aren’t getting any better. Now, I’m not saying everything was that bad, heck no. I saw some awesome Cosplay, some decent merchandise, the screening room was bigger than usual but that’s about it.

The only reason I don’t regret going this year is the Totoro plushie Johnny was so kind to get me.

The fee to get in was pretty high IMO. I’m going to quote Johnny on this one: “That was the most expensive fee we paid to go to the toilet, ever!”. I understand the building was rented for the weekend and they had to get the rent money somehow (and a little profit on the side) but if we are going to pay at least we should be able to see/find something worthy.

Around 80% of the merchandise was handmade, some were good others not so good (mostly not so good); only 2 shops with plushies or original anime/manga merchandise but not a lot of diversity. You could find One Piece, Sailor Moon, Fairy Tail and a few other anime related objects but that was it.

Everything there very expensive! Seriously, that Totoro plushie is very small but it was 50Ron (around 11€ or $15). 20 minutes, that’s how long we stayed at the convention.

This is it. I think I’m done with conventions. I don’t feel like paying just to be present somewhere.

But I got a Totoro so it wasn’t that bad. In fact, after leaving the convention the day became better and better. We went to the Botanical Garden. Apparently we paid for a walk in the park since every exposition there was closed. At least it was cheaper than at Nijikon. I managed to take a few photos with my phone and see a few brides.

After that lunch and a game of pool, which Johnny won. We ended the day with Pacific Rim, which wasn’t what I expected it to be. Overall it was a good day. It’s been a while since we actually went out and did many things and just had fun.

I was just wasting time on the Internet trying to figure out what skills I need to make my life better.

For example, I was trying to find out what kind of certificates I need for different foreign languages, what accounting classes I should take and so on. So, from one thing to another I decided to apply for a Visa to see if the current me meets the standards imposed by different countries for emigration.

You know, just for fun.

By random choice,I picked Australia. So I applied for a “Work and Holiday” Visa. It made most sense considering I never worked overseas and I’m still at university (even if I’ve been working for almost 6 years now).

I didn’t even made it to the second step. Why? Well, I passed the age requirement but apparently failed when I said I was Romanian. I didn’t even had a chance to input my skills and work experience. They just redirected me to the page where I could apply to simpler jobs. Apparently Romanians are only good as waiters and other similar jobs.

Disappointment at its best.

I am now afraid to apply for a work visa in Japan. Did our reputation reached the ears of the Nippon people? I hope not.

This is the second blow I had in less then 2 days.

At university I meet this guy that works at a multinational company. Apparently he is a consultant for all the jobs that anything to do with Germany (because he speaks German really well). He told me, he worked in Germany for a couple of years but decided to come back home because of how he was treated there.

He said Romanians weren’t well perceived there. And even if you did a great job, people would still look down on you. This eventually got to him and he decided to come back home. This was a bit of a shock to me considering the person in question is a big dude, with a goatee, piercings and a lot of exotic animals at home.

I’m just disappointed. Really, life is unfair.

We all know why Romanians are perceived like this: because of gypsies with Romanian passports.

I hate the fact that because of all those scumsthat the Europeans try to make us accept yet they don’t know how to send them back “home” as fast as they possible can the good people have to suffer.

I doubt anything will make me change my opinion on this, but truthfully, if someone wants equal rights (the gypsies in this case) they should also be subjected to the same rules and obligations like the rest of us.

They should send their children to school rather than selling them into slavery.

They should get jobs rather than steal or beg.

But, what gets to me the most is how proud they are to be called gypsies whenever it’s in their favor (for example, when they are persecuted by the long arm of the law) but when they are caught doing something bad they are either Romanians, Bulgarians or anything else (depends on their ID).

No wonder, Holland wants restrictions for us. I would impose restrictions as well if our main export would be gypsies.

Seriously, I’m not a racist. I’m just pissed that my dreams of actually getting a decent job/life overseas depend on how far away the country is and on how harsh the immigration rules are.

Yes, I want to go to Japan because it’s been my childhood dream. But now I want to go because of all those harsh restrictions. It’s not a country where anybody can just stroll in. You only go to Japan if you are a decent person. That, for me is like heaven.

And truthfully, even if I’ll become a gaijin, well, it will be far better than to be known as a low life Romanian (as perceived by the rest of Europe).

And we all know that Romanians have been a pillar to the rest of the Europe for centuries. If we wouldn’t have been the people that we were, I really think things would’ve been really different.

I am proud to be Romanian, not because I was born and that its an obligation, I am proud because of our history, our culture, our beautiful country and people. And no gypsy should get the chance to ruin what our people fought for years.

So, dear Australians/people in foreign countries, I am a PC operator/translator /blogger/amateur photographer so don’t send me to the kitchen just because I was born in Romania.

After 22 years of theft, lies and manipulation, perpetuated by your governments,
and the corporate media, your voices are being heard oncemore on the streets
of your cities.

You must acknowledge the fact that bringing down one man, and choosing another
will not solve your problems. This will only perpetuate the political circus that has been unfolding in front of your eyes for 22 years. You must acknowledge the fact that your entire political class is corrupt and does not serve the interest of the people, as it should.

Many of you know that the world is changing, many of you feel that inside. Do not loose hope, for anonymous is by your side. We must stand united against our governments and make our voices heard, for we are the people of the world who want to put an end to the economic and monetary enslavement.

Stand up Romania!
for a real democracy,
for the future of your identity and traditions of your people,
stand up for a true change!

It was finished in 1911 and it has a lot of history to it. But for whatever reasons, it was left to rot (like many old buildings in Romania). Then someone decided it was the perfect space for a library. And so the renovation started and this is how the building looks now:

Don’t freak out, this is the side view of the building. The main facade was kept but they modernized the rest of it. I’m actually looking forward to the day they open the doors.

I’ve read a lot about this renovation and many pointed out that the library will look like a mall. Now, maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe people will mistaken it for a mall and might actually visit a place that is worth visiting rather than wasting their free time window shopping.

The content of this lovely library will be 12.5 million books! Bucharest has around 2 million people. So there are plenty of books to go around for everyone.

The interest in books has risen in the past few years thanks to newspapers like Adevarul, Libertatea, etc. that sold their weekly editions with books for a moderate price. I also noticed that Bravo Girl (the magazine for young girls) comes with the first volume from “The Southern Vampire Series” for just 10 ron and the books in stores are around 35 ron. That’s a big difference in price, if you ask me.

I really am excited about this. Hopefully bureaucracy won’t get in the way of my enjoyment and I hope that somehow I will convince Johnny to come with me.

I won’t miss it this year. I’m going no matter how cold is outside. Nothing will stop me this year. Nothing!!! Otaku Festival here I come.

So, who else is going?

It’s just that I don’t know if Johnny will like to go with me. I remember the last time I went, Johnny stayed home and I went on my own and at a certain point I was having a hard time losing a guy. I mean seriously, it was so crowded but I just couldn’t shake him off.

We went, we voted and we waited for the results. Last night all the TV stations said that Mircea Geoanawon. They (PSD – Partidul Social Democrat) were actually celebrating last night. I was actually thinking “We’re screwed, the comunnists are back“.

I woke up this morning, got to work and I heard that Basescu won (from the radio stations). The TV stations are still saying that Geoana won. But, people are saying that the TV stations are lying (cause they are owned by people in the Democrat party) and they (PSD – Geoana) are trying to make things work in their way and that they aren’t relying on the actual voting results

I’m not into politics nor do I enjoy talking about it. But it’s not something I can actually ignore, knowing that our life is ruled by people that don’t even care about us.

In a few weeks Romania will have a new president.

I’m pretty much sure we’re going down the drain cause we don’t have an “Obama” to vote for, not even someone close. After the fall of the Communist regime in 1989, Romania has been going downhill. We’re not progressing. We’re just going around in circles and after each circle things just keep getting worse.

The worst part is you can’t even trust the media to inform you about what’s happening. If you want to be lied in your face, just open the TV or read a newspaper. What’s worse, the media that is supposed to inform people about what’s going on, is making things up. Why? Because people that are into politics (and which have certain interests) have their own TV stations and newspapers. So it’s easy to see why you shouldn’t depend on the media.

I hate the situation that we’re in now

I hate the fact that there are a lot of miss informed people out there

I hate the bribed people that come in and vote and after a year they start complaining that things aren’t going well (trust me there are a lot of them, including pensioners)

I hate the stupidity in the country

I hate wanting to vote and not having for who to vote for

I hate the media for not doing what it’s supposed to do

I hate the fact that there’s no one out there that could stop this vicious circle we’re been in the past 20 years.

Now, I’m wondering for what did those people died 20 years ago? Did they died for freedom? Or was it all just to get rid of Ceausescu just so others like him could take over?

In today’s newspaper, you can find a really small article (really small) about Top Gear coming to Romania on 22 September.

I’m a big fan of this TV show and I’m now even into cars. The article says:

The famous TV show from BBC, “Top Gear”, will be filming in the underground car park of the Palace of Parliament… on 22 September. The Top Gear stars will be filming for 3 hours and will be making demonstrations with 3 spectacular cars: Ferrari, Lamborghini and Aston Martin.

But that’s not all, after a little googleing, I found out that they will be filming in different locations in Romania. Now that’s awesome. I would like and autograph now! But I don’t even know when they will be coming in the country and on what airport. Must do my research first.